Then, last weekend, Trump’s campaign dismissed any lingering questions about his ground game, thumping both John Kasich and Ted Cruz in the state’s delegate selection caucuses. One newsreport used the occasion of this latest victory to declare “Massachusetts is Trump Country."

Some, both inside and outside the Trump campaign, have even suggested he could be the first Republican since Ronald Reagan to carry the state. Local Trump supporter state Rep. Geoff Diehl told the State House News Service that the Trump campaign thinks Massachusetts is in play for November, and said Massachusetts volunteers will be used locally rather than dispatched to New Hampshire, a traditional swing state.

Talking about expanding the electoral map isunderstandable tactical bravado, even if the goal appears dubious here in Massachusetts.